BONNYVILLE – After a lengthy back-and-forth discussion, MD of Bonnyville council voted down an amendment to a Road Ban Policy but agreed to a one-year pilot project that will see no road bans placed on MD roads this year.
On March 23, council was reviewing the municipality’s Road Ban Policy and whether they would like to dissolve the current Road Ban Committee, made up of the Reeve, the CAO and the General Manager of Infrastructure Services, and instead give the deciding authority of when to implement a Road Ban to the MD’s administration.
While council discussed the Road Ban Policy that was first implemented in 1992, conversations centered around whether road bans should be implemented at all, or if the municipality had adequate road use agreements that could replace the necessity of a road ban policy all together.
When a road ban is implemented, rules are placed on municipal roads within the MD restricting axle weights for limited time periods. These bans often take place during certain seasonal conditions when roads are more likely to be damaged due to freeze-thaw conditions or extreme heat.
Reeve Barry Kalinski pointed out when a road ban is in place, it can significantly reduce the quantity of goods industry vehicles can transport – negatively impacting a business's bottom line. This is something Kalinski is not in favor of.
Coun. Ben Fadeyiw was of the opposite opinion.
Wanting to see authority of road bans transitioned to administration and utilized when deemed appropriate, Fadeyiw expressed that to save money on road repair costs for the municipality, stronger Road Use Agreements should be put in place to ensure heavy weight vehicles are kept on specific roads before a no-road ban pilot project takes place.
He also noted that he would like to see more damaged roads be repaired or paid for by companies that regularly travel municipal roads with heavy trucks.
While there was some confusion on the initial motion council was voting on, the amendment to transition road ban authority to the MD’s administration was defeated. Coun. Mike Krywiak acknowledged that he would be in favour of a re-vote, but another vote was not called.
Having the policy amended would have allowed administration to implement or remove road bans based on weather and road conditions without waiting for a scheduled meeting of council. This process could have sped up the municipality’s reaction time to changing conditions during the spring thaw season, according to information presented by administration.
Following the defeated policy amendment, Coun. Dana Swigart offered the motion to carry out a one-year pilot project that will see no road bans placed on MD roads for the upcoming season.
In an effort to be more industry-friendly, council unanimously supported the motion with the assurance from administration that road monitoring would take place and an evaluation of the pilot project would return to council next year.
Administration also ensured road use agreements for major industries, including gravel, logging and oil, are in place and will be followed up on.
